Delaware County Master Gardeners

News for Delaware County Master Gardeners

Vol. 13 No. 1 January, 2008

Happy New Year to the extraordinary Master Gardeners of Delaware County! Thanks to all of you who have followed through with the tedious reporting of hours and educational updates for 2007. I’m looking forward to a rewarding and action-packed year in 2008.

We have been collecting your volunteer opportunity choices and contact information for 2008. Please check the new committees and projects that have been added. If you have questions, contact the chair person. I’m hoping to have all of the input by the January meeting. We will compile the new members hip list and mail it to you later this month.

Congratulations to the Class of 2007. They have successfully completed their courses, and are now working on their class projects. Thanks to the Master Mentors and the Social Committee for helping to make this a great experience for the class. Be sure to introduce yourself to new members, and encourage their participation in the organization.

Our Holiday Party was once again a great success. Many thanks to Hope Jones-Gary and the Committee for a wonderful party. Congratulations to Delilah Foldes and Arlene Pugh, class of 1997, recipients of 10 year Master Gardener pins, and to Marty Roelandt, 1,000 hour certificate, Chuck McLoughlin and Marian Yaglinski, 500 hour certificates. Julia King, of the Master Gardeners received the US Airways gift card for $1000. Congratulations to Julia, and thanks to all of you who supported the project and to Tracey Carson, US Airways employee whose Master Gardener volunteer time made her eligible for the reward. We collected $1250 in donations for the gift card.

I hope to see you at the January 15th meeting.

Linda

From the MG President . . . . Kathy Hornberger

Happy New Year, Everyone! It’s a leap year, so we’ve all been given a gift – a whole extra day for gardening! If you are one of those individuals who makes a list of resolutions (and even if you are not), please consider using this extra day to contribute some additional volunteer hours towards MG programs, projects, or events. With a number of new ventures already proposed to the MG Board and others I am sure we will receive before year’s end, as well as all the volunteer opportunities already in place, take the “leap” and commit yourself to those extra hours. I did.

This week’s incredibly warm temperatures probably lured you outdoors to the garden as it did me, but before I could even think about my own property, I felt compelled to contribute some time and effort to the gardens at Smedley. The Bird & Butterfly Garden needed a cleaning so I cleaned it. I had to remind myself that all the gardens at Smedley are award-winning public gardens and that they should always be presentable. As such, one of my resolutions for the new year is to do my part to help make this possible. I thank all the MGs who have contributed their time and efforts over the years to help create and maintain these gardens. On behalf of all the garden committee chairs, I encourage everyone to spend some time in the Smedley teaching gardens. They will be better off for your care and the public will definitely be the beneficiary.

I’m looking forward to getting acquainted with the class of 2007 and reconnecting with current MGs.

Good gardening in 2008!

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Hints from Heloise
Delilah

Use peanut butter to get gum out of children’s hair.

People often throw out baby strollers. I used one for years to move gardening items around the yard. Another use would be to use it to move an indoor potted plant from one sunny spot to another. One use for an old high chair would be a place to hold a fern or another indoor plant at a good height for better light. An old ladder painted or not, can be used to place plants in a sunny window.

Don’t forget to save plastic containers to start seed and cuttings in another, more or less, Glass jars are great for the storage of seed packets in a dark and cool place. To keep them dry, form a pocket of tissue papers containing powdered milk and place It in the jar with the seeds. The milk will absorb any moisture.

If you have not cleaned and stored your tools already, place the cleaned metal parts in a bucket of cider vinegar for 24 hours before wiping them dry to remove rust easily with a dry cloth. Then wipe with vegetable oil before storing.

Old bookcases and medicine cabinets make good storage places for garden tools, seeds and soil. Discarded chandeliers make a good way to empty hanging pots for next year’s plants.

Use plastic sweater boxes or wash basins from hospital stays to water your plants. Place the pots in a container and add several inches of water. Let the plants soak up as much water as they need. Remove the plants and drain excess water before placing back on your window sills. The plants get thoroughly watered and the leaves do not get wet. Do not forget to put coffee grounds around your acid-loving plants.

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Most women over 40 have begun to lose bone mass that provides balance, muscle tone and flexibility. Simple strength training exercises have been shown to improve bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis, as well other chronic diseases. The Strong Women Program, created by Dr. Miriam Nelson of Tufts University will be held at Penn State Cooperative Extension, Delaware County on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 10 – 11 a.m., starting January 15. This 8-week program will include participation in a fitness assessment pre and post activity, guided weight training exercises with instruction on proper exercise technique, support and encouragement to conduct exercises once a week outside of class and information on strength training and nutrition. Classes will be held at Delaware County Cooperative Extension, 20 Paper Mill Road, Smedley Park, Springfield – off Baltimore Pike near the Springfield Mall. The $90 registration fee includes a home exercise guide and supporting material. To register, call the office at 610-690-2655 for a registration brochure. This program is appropriate for both sedentary and very active women. Women over 69 need a doctor’s note. If you have any questions about the program, please call Donna Tomaino. All women will need an exercise mat and appropriate weight dumbbells and adjustable ankle weight. Call for more information or just come to the first class for guidance on weight purchases.

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Mid-Atlantic Peony Society News Special Peony Presentation, February 24, 2008 at the Scott Arboretum

jointly sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Peony Society Carsten Burkhardt, a world-renown peony traveler and explorer, will present Peonies in Europe - Collections, breeders & natural habitats on Sunday February 24, 2008 at 2pm at the Scott Arboretum in conjunction with The Mid-Atlantic Peony Society.  Carsten maintains the ultimate peony website at www.paeo2.de. Be sure to check it out!

Directions to the lecture can be found at www.scottarboretum.org. Additional details will be posted on www.midatlanticpeony.org as they are received.

Carsten provides these additional details on his presentation:
“I will guide you through peony collections in Germany, France, The Czech Republic, Holland, Italy, Denmark, Switzerland and Austria, private gardens of collectors and breeders and show you some spots where peonies grow in the wild in Greece and Italy and talk about the difficulties of their protection.”

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OUR TWELFTH ANNUAL HOME GARDENERS' SCHOOL
WILL BE HELD AT NEUMANN COLLEGE
SATURDAY MARCH 29, 2008

Saturday,  May 17, 2008, our annual Bus Trip.  Stay tuned for more details.

International Master Gardener Conference - Las Vegas from March 22-26, 2009

The Master Gardeners of Southern Nevada invite you to join us in Las Vegas for the 2009 International Master Gardener Conference.

Attached is some general information on our conference, including the hotel and conference theme, “New Frontiers in Horticulture and Gardening.” 

Starting in January 2008 we will be adding confirmed information on speakers, tours and “things to do” to our website: www.unce.unr.edu/imgc.  We will begin on-line registration and hotel reservations in Summer 2008.  The Alexis Park Resort is lovely, and we will have it all to ourselves – check out www.alexispark.com.

We have not yet finalized our registration fee – we are still seeking sponsors to keep the cost as low as possible.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Las Vegas.  If you have never been here before, it may surprise you.  We have more cacti than casinos and more sagebrush than showgirls…in other words, there’s a lot more than The Strip!

Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions.

Antoinette Edmunds

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‘Twas the week after Christmas

‘Twas the week after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
 The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had all gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
 When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).

I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
 The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
 And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."

 As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
 And prepared once again to do battle with dirt

I said to myself, as I only can
 "You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"

 So away with the last of the sour cream dip,
 Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

 Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
 "Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie - not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore 
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

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FALL AT BUTCHART GARDENS, VICTORIA, B. C., CANADA

Minnie Ullman took my challenge to “What I did on my Vacation?” and sent these pictures of Butchart Gardens. Although she and her husband visited in winter—they swear that the gardens are even beautiful then. Here are some taken by a friend of Minnie’s in autumn. No visit to Victoria is complete without seeing Butchart Gardens. Benvenuto, Italian for 'welcome', is the name the Butchart’s used for their original estate, now a National Historic Site of Canada, and still owned by family descendants. The Butchart Gardens offers 55 acres of wonderful floral display located in Greater Victoria on Vancouver Island. You will find spectacular views as you stroll along meandering paths and expansive lawns.

In 1904, Jennie Butchart began to beautify a worked-out quarry site left behind from her husband's pioneering efforts in the manufacture of Portland cement at nearby Tod Inlet. Her venture remains a family commitment to horticulture and hospitality spanning over 100 years.

From the exquisite Sunken Garden to the charming Rose Garden, this show garden still maintains the gracious traditions of earlier times.

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Viola F1 Skippy XL Plum-Gold - AAS Cool Season Bedding Plant Sunny gold faces charm people gazing at Skippy. The flowers are uniquely designed with plum shades surrounding the golden centers (face), which contain radiating black lines affectionately called whiskers. Flower size: 1.5 inches Plant height: 6 inches Plant width: 8 inches Length of time from sowing seed to flower: 10 weeks.

Eggplant F1 Hansel – AAS Vegetable Award Winner Best described as a miniature eggplant, Hansel is a smaller-sized plant with finger-sized clusters of fruit. Just because of its smaller size, don’t make the mistake of thinking it produces less fruit. The strong plant, reaching less than 3 feet, produces clusters of three to six fruit. They mature early, 55 days – 10 days earlier than the comparison eggplant. Good for containers. Plant Height: 36 inches Plant width: 30 inches Fruit size: From 3” to 10” in length

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